Gena is a 20-something living in Manhattan who eats a semi-raw, all-vegan diet. Choosing Raw is a forum for people of all backgrounds to discuss vegan nutrition, body image and health.

Greetings, all!

I’m heading into a weekend of heavy exam prep, not to mention a bioinformatics project for my biochem class (if any of you happen to be experts on lysozyme, talk to me), so the next few days of eats—heck, quite possibly the next few weeks—will stay within our recent theme of fast, easy food.

Given that certain NY Times writers have recently been suggesting—a bit unfairly, if you ask me—that veganism is nothing but hardship, I hope these posts will feel like a timely alternative to that perspective. I hope they will remind you that a little enthusiasm and confidence can go a long way in inspiring others to respect and feel curious about veganism. I hope they will show you that even burnt out pre-med students and food bloggers who spend most of their time in the library can prepare healthy, beautiful, and flavorful vegan food in a flash. And I hope they will suggest to you that the challenges of transitioning to a vegan diet are rivaled–and hopefully surpassed–by the joys and pleasures of its food.

This tartine is incredibly easy to put together, but it looks and tastes sophisticated and special. I got the idea when Valerie told me that Le Pain Quotidien is now doing a pea hummus tartine; I’ve made pea hummus before (and loved it) but it never occurred to create a tartine from it.